Koi Filter: A Necessity For Healthy Koi

Magnificent and multi-colored Koi fish need an excellent Koi filter to maintain a clean and bacteria-free watery environment. Koi fish are very sensitive with their watery environment.

Crystal clear water does not necessarily indicate clean water. It may contain colorless impurities such as nitrite and ammonia which are unsafe to Koi.

Koi filter is a basic requirement for Koi keeping and responsible in the process of removing waste products of Koi and other harmful chemical compounds from the Koi pond. Koi enthusiasts should choose the appropriate filter system to maintain the natural balance in the Koi pond's environment.

Lack of a reliable filtration system will result to the following consequences: poor water quality which becomes toxic that leads to massive fish kill, propagation of other parasites and harmful life forms in the Koi pond, and discoloration (predominantly greenish) which will make the Koi pond unsightly and foul-smelling.

Several Koi professionals suggest that a suitable Koi filter system will have the capability to handle at least one third of the total water capacity of the pond. Assuming that your Koi pond can handle 1,500 gallons of water, you need to set up a filtration system that can handle 500 gallons of water. At the very minimum range, it should handle not less than 10% of the volume capacity of the pond.

Koi breeders must use a filtration system with mechanical filtration, and biological and chemical filtration to achieve better elimination and cleanup of harmful waste and chemicals in the Koi pond.

These two types of filtration are essential for excellent maintenance of Koi ponds, and to ensure better health and proper growth of Koi.

Mechanical filtration removes debris and other solid waste elements in the pond. The widely-used materials for mechanical filtration are sand, pads, beads, and brushes.

Water passing through these materials will trap solid wastes from the water, e.g. twigs, leaves, fish food, fish feces, etc. This mechanical filtration has series of filter stages until the smallest particle is strained and removed from the water.

Biological filtration use natural biological procedures to convert toxic waste elements excreted by Koi and those produced by decaying elements into less invasive compounds. Koi excrete ammonia which is harmful to Koi in large doses.

In this filtration, ammonia is converted into nitrites by nitrifying bacteria significantly known as Nitrosomonas. ‘Good' aerobic bacteria convert nitrites into nitrates by Nitrobacter which are no longer harmful to Koi.

These ‘good' bacteria are identified as nitrifying bacteria that fill the pond in time. Chemical filtration stimulates carbon to remove ammonia and other organic waste products by adsorption.

The process involves waste substances linked to the surface of the carbon. If you use a large biological filter, chemical filtration should not be utilized but it is still significant.

Another important element in filtration system is the use of a bottom drain. The drain is used to clean up pond water and pumped back to the filter chambers. This also enables total cleanup of the bottom surface of the pond.

The ability to set up a good Koi filter system will help Koi enthusiasts maintain a clean, bacteria-free, and healthy Koi pond.